Parallel ruler



(N0 Model.)

0. H. WOOD.

PARALLEL RULER. No. 268,342. Patented Nov. 28, 1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. WOOD, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

PARALLEL RU LER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,342, dated November 28, 1882.

Application filed August 25, 1882. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. W001), of

I Springfield, in the county of H'ampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Drawing-Instruments for Making Parallel Lines, of which the following is a specification and description.

The object of my invention is to provide an instrument for use upon the drawing-board in producing parallel lines of any uniform distance apart 5 and I accomplish this by the mechanism substantially as hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure I is a plan view of my invention, with a head attached, to be used as a T-square. Fig. II is an edge view of the same with the head removed. Fig. III is a plan view of the same with the head removed. Fig. IV is a planview of the clamping'plate, which is secured firmly to the blade of the instrument. Fig.V is a plan view of the clamping-Washer. Fig. V1 is a vertical section at line A of Fig. I of the clamping-plate and clamping-Washer and thumb-screw, together with the parts which secure the hand-piece and the bladetogether, shown in the relative position or order in which they are placed together in the instrument. Fig. VII is a plan view of a modification of the frame which secures the blade to the handpiece, showing it as a blank when punched from sheet metal. Fig. VIII is a plan view of one of the ends of said blank, with its ears cent up to receive the pin whichforms the hook when the frame is made from sheet metal. Fig. IXis a transverse section of Fig. VIII at lineO; and Fig. X is a transverse section at line B of Fig. III, showing the adjusting mechanism.

In the drawings, 1 represents the hand-piece, which may be made of suitable wood, in the lower side of which, when the instrumentis to be used as a T-square, I make a dovetail recess, 7 and 3 is a T-square head provided on its upper side with a dovetail tongue, 6, adapted to be inserted into the recess 7 to hold the head 3 to the hand-piece l firmly. To this hand-piece I firmly attach a thin metallic piece,

5, provided with two horizontal projections-i one at each end-each havinga cavity or recessin' its end, which opens upward, as shown at 9 in Figs. I, II, III, and VI; and this metallic piece 5 is also provided with a cylindrical projection, 11, having a screw-thread made therein, into which is turned a thumb-screw, 13, as shown clearly in the drawings. I also make a small lug, 12, projecting upward a short distance, against which to press the fingers to move the hand-piece along the paper when using the instrument in drawing.

The blade 2 may be made of any suitable wood or other material, and to the upper side at one end of the blade I firmly secure the plate 17, having an upwardly-projecting hub,

18, through which vertically is made a threaded hole.

Thet'rame 4. is provided at each end with hooked projections 10, which are fitted to and are adapted to engage in the cavities 9, made in the projections on the piece 5; and the frame 4 is also provided with a finger, 14, which is bent so as to partially embrace the shank of the adjusting-screw 13, preferably upon the under side of the screw, as shown in Fig. X. A hole, 16, having its edge beveled or inclined, as shown in Fig. VI, is made in the frame 4, and a washer, 20, having its pe ripherybeveled, is fitted snugly into the hole 16, and as the plate 17 is firmly secured to the blade 2 the washer is placed in the hole 16, and the hub 18 on the upper side of the plate 17 is placed up into the hole 21 in the washer 20, and the washer should, when thusin place, be doweled to the plate 17 either by an ordinary dowel-pin or by making the hub 18 with one side cut away, as at 24, and one side of the hole 21 through the washer made straight, as at 25, which will hold the washer always in the same relative position with the plate 17. The threaded shank of a thumb-screw, 22, is then inserted down through the hole 21 in the washer, and is turned firmlyinto the threaded hole in the hub 18" of the plate 17 until the flange 26 of the thumb-screw presses firmly upon the washer, forcing the latter into the hole 16 in theframe 4., to cause friction between the beveled periphery of the washer and the beveled edge of the hole 16,and the frame 4 will then be held firmly to the plate 17 and blade 2, but so that the latter may be moved 2 acaaae around and upon which the blade may be moved, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. III.

When the instrument is to be used the handpiece 1 may be laid flat upon the board or paper, and the projections or hooks 10 are hooked into the cavities 9, the opposite end of the blade 2 being held in an elevated position, and if the blade be dropped the finger 14 will pass around and beneath the shank of the adjusting-screw 13. The frame 4 and piece 5 are cut away so that the milled head of the adjusting-screw 13 may move to and fro between; and when these parts 4 and 5 are secured together. as above described, the projections 10 will slide to and fro in the cavities 9, according as the adjustingscrew 13 is turned more or less out of its threaded socket 11, the finger 14 abutting against said socket when the frame 4 and blade 2 are moved in one direction, and abut-ting against the head of the screw when they are moved in the opposite direction. This movement may be considerable if the screw is turned out of its socket some distance, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. I; but if the screw is turned out but a little the movement of the blade will be correspondingly small.

By having amark made, as at 27,0n the plate 17, and marks or graduations, as 28, made on the circular part of the frame 4, the blade may be set perpendicular to the edge of the head 3, or at any other desired angle thereto, and parallel lines of any uniform distances apart may be made with the instrument used as a T-square.

Iiitis desired to use the instrument fiatupon the board and away from its edge, the tongue 6 may be drawn out of the recess 7, and by hearing the hand upon the hand-piece 1, to hold it in position, uniform parallel lines may be made by seizing the thumb-screw 22 between the thumb and finger and moving down the blade, making the line, then holding the blade stationary and moving down the handpiece, and then holding the latter stationary and again moving down the blade, and so on.

By making any desired number of lines, and then moving the blade any desired number of times, but omitting the lines, if this be done uniformly, a great variety of'line-work may be done, which, when finished, will have a very ornamental appearance.

It is evident that the hand-piece 1 and the piece 5 may be made of one piece of metal, if desired; but I prefer to make the part 1 of wood with the piece 5 secured thereto, as being lighter to move about.

The frame 4, with the hook-projections thereon, may be cast solid and of a size to be properly fitted to the cavities 9 in the hand-piece, or in the piece secured thereto; or the frame 4 may be punched from sheet metal, in which case the hook-projections 10 may be punched out long, and their extreme ends rolled up to .give them the proper size; or they may be punched out with small cars 8 thereon, which may be bent up at right angles to the frame,

as shown in Fig.VlII, and then drilled through or perforated, and a small bar or pin inserted in the holes extending through both said ears to form the hooks 10, in which that part of the piece 5 in which the cavities 9 are made should be considerably narrower than the length of the bar or pin between the ears, to allow space for the pin to slide along in the cavity.

It is evident that the hooks 10 may be made on the piece 5 and the cavities 9 made in the frame 4, j ust reversing the arrangement ot'parts for securing the hand-piece 1 and the frame 4 together, without departing from the invention in the least.

If the clamping-screw be turned into the plate 17 and against the washer 20 to the desired degree, the beveled rim of the washer will be forced against the beveled edge of the hole through the frame 4 to cause such an amount of friction that the blade may be moved into a position at any desired angle, and there held by the friction without ever moving the clamping-screw in changing the position of the blade; or, if desired, by turning the clamping-sorewin to the desired degree the blade will be immovably fixed and cannot be changed without turning out the clampingscrew. This forms a very convenient and effective clamping device forclamping the blade to any ordinary T-square, in which the part 4 would only require to be a small metallic piece, without the hooks 10, and having the beveled hole 16 through it, (shown in Fig. V1,) and secured to the head or stationary part of the frame.

The finger 14, which partially embraces the adjustingscrew 13, operates as a device to lock the frame 4 to the hand-piece, so that they will not become accidentally disengaged or detached from each other when in use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. The combination of the handpiece provided with hook catches or cavities 9, the adjusting-screw 13, the frame 4, provided with hooks 10 to engage and slide in said cavities, and provided with a finger, 14, the blade 2, plate 17, secured to said blade, and a clamping-screw for clamping said blade to the frame, substantially as described;

2. The combination of a hand-piece provided with cavities 9, a screw-socket, 11, and a socket, as 7, the head 3, provided with a tongue, as 6, to fit and engage in said socket 7 to secure the head and hand-piece firmly together, the adjusting-screw 13, the frame 4, provided with hooks .10 to engage and slidein said cavities, and provided with a lockingfinger, 14, the blade 2, and a clamping device for clamping the blade to said frame at any desired angle, substantially as described.

3. In a drafting-instrument, the combination of a stationary piece provided with a beveled hole, a blade having secured thereto a plate, 17, a washer having a beveled rim fitted into said hole in the stationary piece, and

a clamping-screw, 22, adapted to be turned any desired position byturning the screw,subinto said plate throggii ald agaigst slaid washstantially as described. er, whereby thesai b a e may e o ampe to said stationary piece, so that said blade may CHARLES WOOD 5 be moved into a position at any desired angle Witnesses:

and there held by the friction without turning T. A. CURTIS, the screw, or may be immovably clampedinto N. E. DWINNELL. 

